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Tim Tebow didn’t walk on water. He didn’t even win the game. He was close though.

And that will be more than reason enough for fans in the Mile High City to escalate Tebow-mania to new heights this week after his performance in Denver’s 29-24 loss to the visiting San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

With Bronco supporters pleading with management since training camp to hand over the reigns of the team to Tebow, they finally got their wish when Tebow stepped in for an ineffective Kyle Orton in the second half.

Tebow responded by running for a touchdown and throwing another in the final stages of the game, creating the type of excitement Orton just could not muster.

Even when his last second attempt to win the game fell incomplete, the ex-Florida Gator quarterback was greeted with chants of “Tee-Bow, Tee-Bow” as he left the field.

Will it spark a quarterback controversy in Denver? In reality, there has been one going on there for weeks, at least in public.

Booed for every little mistake since the season opener, Orton is in a no-win situation. The fans don’t want him. His team is not responding to him.

His time in Denver seems like it is coming to the end. Maybe it should be.

As for Tebow, it’s just starting.

COLTS D GETS A D

The absence of the injured Peyton Manning isn’t the only reason the Indianapolis Colts are still winless.

Did you blow it by coughing up a 17-point lead in the second half by allowing Matt Cassel to shred your secondary for four touchdown passes, two each to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston?

Damn right.

At the same time, you didn’t blow your chance to remain in the running for the first-overall pick in the 2012 draft, which would give you a shot at grabbing stud Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. At 0-5, that remains a distinct possibility.

Colts managements needs to take the blame here. Not only did they fail to draft a young quarterback of the future to groom behind Manning, they have never been able to build the type of defence that can win games on its own.

Manning was on the sideline Sunday, watching backup Curtis Painter turn in a fine two TD performance.

Unfortunately for Manning, there was nothing “fine” about the Colts defence.

GIANTS BLOW IT!

If you think Seattle’s shocking 36-25 win was a nightmare for suicide pool players who figured the host Giants were a slam dunk, just imagine how it felt for beleaguered New York coach Tom Coughlin.

How do you lose to a Seattle team that had not won a game in the Eastern time zone in almost four years?

How do you lose to a Seahawks squad that was forced to count on backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst down the stretch after starter Tavares Jackson was knocked out of action with a shoulder injury?

The 3-2 Giants might consider themselves on the verge of being one of the NFL’s elite teams, but they have a long way to go if they can’t hold serve on home turf against a significantly less-talented Seahawks roster.

It shouldn’t happen. It can’t happen.

But it did happen. And Coughlin will be lamenting it all week.

A year ago, the Giants appeared to be well en route to a playoff spot until they foolishly punted to Philly’s DeSean Jackson on the final play during a home game against the Eagles. Jackson’s ensuing TD romp, forever known as The Miracle at the New Meadowlands, gave the visitors the win, an outcome that would cost the Giants a postseason berth.

But when it comes to who has the ability to march to victory in crunch time, Brees wins the matchup hands down.

You can bet that Newton was watching closely as he admired the way Brees led the New Orleans Saints 80 yards with the game on the line, a drive culminated with the game-winning touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas with 50 seconds remaining.

As was the case in Sunday’s heartbreaking 30-27 loss, Newton’s 1-4 Carolina Panthers have been competitive in all five of their contests this season. But more often than not, they have faded down the stretch, the sign of a young team that does not yet understand how to close out games.

Newton continued to be a fantasy football owner’s dream, tossing for a pair of scores and running for another.

But it was the wise veteran Brees who showed the young buck Newton how it’s done, throwing two TD passes and finishing with a passer’s rating of 109.